1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plate connector comprising press-connecting terminals and plate-like insulating members to which these press-connecting terminals are attached.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-289134, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wire harness to be mounted on an automobile or the like is divided into a plurality of sub-harnesses corresponding respectively to functions of electronic equipments, and these sub-harnesses can be connected together. Therefore, the connection between wires of the sub-harnesses is complicated, and the efficiency of the assembling operation is lowered, and in the worst case, the stable quality is not obtained.
Therefore, in order to facilitate the connection between the wires, there has been proposed a plate connector comprising a plurality of plate-like insulating members stacked together, and press-connecting terminals attached to the plate-like insulating members.
The plate-like insulating member includes a flat plate-like bottom wall, and a plurality of partition walls extending upward from this bottom wall. The plurality of partition walls are arranged at equal intervals in parallel relation to one another. Any adjacent two of these partition walls jointly form a wire receiving groove for receiving a wire.
The press-connecting terminal includes a wire connection portion for connection to the wire, and an electrical contact portion of a tubular shape extending from the wire connection portion. The wire connection portion includes pairs of opposed press-connecting blades for being press-connected to the wire. In the press-connecting terminal, the wire connection portion and the electrical contact portion are arranged to assume an L-shaped plan configuration (that is, assume an L-shape when seen from above).
In the plate-like insulating member, the press-connecting terminals are arranged on the bottom wall in two directions, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the wire receiving grooves and in the direction of juxtaposition of the wire receiving grooves. Namely, the press-connecting terminals are arranged on the bottom wall in a two-dimensional matrix manner. A plurality of plate-like insulating members, each having the press-connecting terminals arranged in a two-dimensional matrix manner, are stacked one upon another, and an electrically-conductive connection bar is inserted in the desired electrical contact portions superposed together. By doing so, the plate connector is obtained.
Thus, in the plate connector, the press-connecting terminals for being press-connected to the wires are mounted in desired positions on the bottom wall of each plate-like insulating member, and the connection bars are inserted in the desired electrical contact portions, so that the wires are interconnected according to a predetermined pattern.
For assembling the above plate connector, first, the press-connecting terminals are mounted in desired positions on the bottom wall of each plate-like insulating member. Then, the wires are press-connected to the press-connecting terminals attached to the plate-like insulating member. The plate-like insulating members are stacked one upon another, and the connection bars are inserted in the desired positions.
Therefore, when press-connecting the wire to the press-connecting terminal, it is necessary to highly precisely position the press-connecting terminal particularly in the width direction of the wire receiving groove and therefore in the width direction of the wire. When the press-connecting terminal is displaced in the width direction of the wire receiving groove, there is a possibility that a distal end of a blade member, used in the press-connecting operation, is brought into contact with the press-connecting blades, and as a result the blade member is worn, and the press-connecting blades are broken.
When the press-connecting blades are broken, there is a possibility that the wire fails to be electrically connected to the press-connecting terminal. And besides, when the press-connecting terminal is displaced in the width direction of the wire receiving groove, there is a possibility that a conductor of the wire to be press-connected to the wire connection portion, is severed by the press-connecting blades.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a plate connector in which each press-connecting terminal, having a wire connection portion and an electrical contact portion disposed at a position assuming an L-shaped plan configuration, can be highly precisely positioned in a width direction of a wire press-connected to the press-connecting terminal.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plate connector which comprises a press-connecting terminal including a wire connection portion to which a wire is connectable, and an electrical contact portion, in which an insertion member connectable to another metal terminal is insertable, extending from the wire connection portion, wherein the wire connection portion and the electrical contact portion are disposed at a position assuming an L-shaped plan configuration in the press-connecting terminal; a plate-like insulating member, in which the press-connecting terminal is receivable, having a wall on which the press-connecting terminal is to be placed; and a retaining portion disposed on the press-connecting terminal, the retaining portion being retained with the plate-like insulating member when the press-connecting terminal is received in the plate-like insulating member, wherein the press-connecting terminal is moved toward the wall of the plate-like insulating member in a direction in which the wire is inserted in the wire connection portion of the press-connecting terminal, and is attached to the plate-like insulating member. Accordingly, the press-connecting terminal can be more precisely positioned in the width direction of the wire as compared with the case where the press-connecting terminal is moved in the width direction of the wire and also along the wall, and is attached to the plate-like insulating member.
The press-connecting direction (i.e., inserting direction) of the wire to the wire connection portion coincides with the attaching direction of the press-connecting terminal to the plate-like insulating member. Therefore, even when the retaining portions are incompletely retained relative to the plate-like insulating member, the press-connecting terminal is pressed toward the wall to bring the retaining portions in the completely-retained condition simultaneously when the wire is press-connected to the wire connection portion.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the plate-like insulating member includes a plurality of partition walls extending upward from the wall, and the retaining portion includes a plurality of retaining piece portions, which respectively project outwardly from a pair of parallel outer surfaces of the wire connection portion, and which are resiliently deformable so that projecting amounts of the retaining piece portions from the outer surfaces of the wire connection portion are varied, wherein when the press-connecting terminal is attached to the plate-like insulating member so that the press-connecting terminal is inserted between the partition walls adjacent to each other, the retaining piece portions are retainingly engaged, at distal ends thereof disposed remote from the outer surfaces of the wire connection portion, with inner surfaces of the corresponding partition walls, and outwardly presses the inner surfaces of the partition walls by respective resilient restoring forces of the retaining piece portions. As described, when the press-connecting terminal is inserted between the adjacent partition walls, and is attached to the plate-like insulating member, the retaining piece portions produce resilient restoring forces which outwardly press the inner surfaces of the partition walls. Accordingly, the wire connection portion, that is, the press-connecting terminal, is positively positioned at a middle point between the partition walls in the width direction of the wire to be press-connected.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that, when the press-connecting terminal is attached to the plate-like insulating member, the retaining piece portions, projecting respectively from the pair of outer surfaces of the wire connection portion, are inclined relative to an attaching direction of the press-connecting terminal to the plate-like insulating member such that a distance between the retaining piece portions is increased gradually in a direction away from the wall of the plate-like insulating member. Accordingly, when the press-connecting terminal, attached to the plate-like insulating member, tends to move in the direction away from the wall, the retaining piece portions are positively retained by the inner surfaces of the partition walls.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the plate-like insulating member has convex portions projecting from inner surfaces of adjacent two of the partition walls toward each other, and wherein when the press-connecting terminal is attached to the plate-like insulating member, the convex portions are remoter from the wall of the plate-like insulating member than the retaining piece portions are. Accordingly, when the press-connecting terminal, attached to the plate-like insulating member, tends to be withdrawn from the space between the partition walls after the retaining piece portions are completely retained relative to the inner surfaces of the partition walls, each retaining piece portion strikes against (interferes with) the corresponding convex portion.